Protecting The Walking Dead

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As the zombies shamble towards television, we discuss what should make the cut.

By Jesse Schedeen

It's extremely satisfying as a comic fan to see a great comic book slowly make the transition from paper to the screen. In the case of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, that transition has included the involvement of Gale Anne Hurd and Frank Darabont, and a deal with cable channel AMC. AMC has now ordered an initial season of six episodes, which will hopefully begin airing later this year.

As we have with past announcements like this, we've put together a wish list of what elements we want to see in the upcoming adaptation. We examine what works in the comic, and how those same elements can be made to work in the TV show. Walking Dead fans have a long road ahead of them before a TV adaptation hits the airwaves, but as long as the producers bears these suggestions in mind we think the series will turn out alright in the end.

Zombie stories are inherently violent. That just comes with the territory when you have the dead coming to life and trying to devour the living. As such, any Walking Dead adaptation is going to need to have plenty of blood and gore on tap. Humans in this story get eaten alive on a monthly basis. It's never pretty, and it's usually quite messy.

That said, the last thing we want is for the violence to become glamorized or stylized. This isn't Resident Evil or 28 Days Later. The zombies don't run at top speed and leap over barricades with a might scream. They're slow, shambling corpses who are often more pathetic than dangerous. If the main characters start spinning around and chopping heads in 300-style slow motion, we're going to turn off the TV and go back to reading the comic.

Violence is only part of Walking Dead's adults-only content, however. It goes without saying that many of the characters have potty mouths. If you were staring down at a herd of hundreds of hungry zombies, you'd probably drop an F-bomb or two. Characters also frequently hook up and have sex. Again, though, it's not glamorous Hollywood sex, but merely the product of two troubled survivors struggling to find solace in a world gone mad.

Occasionally the sexual content takes a darker turn, however. There is rape in Walking Dead, including the attempted rape of a young child. These scenes aren't easy to stomach, but they do paint a powerful portrait of life after civilization has broken down. A TV show needn't feature these scenes directly, necessarily, but it is important to hammer home the idea that the survivors have more to fear than just zombies.

There is some worry that AMC may not be willing to feature the level of mature content a Walking Dead adaptation would require. Judging by their reruns of The Sopranos, violence, foul language, and sex might have to be censored. On the other hand, original AMC content like Mad Men and Breaking Bad is far more risqué and less prone to censorship. Hopefully, AMC will be willing to go the distance with this franchise as well.

The Walking Dead has a fairly expansive cast, usually numbering in the low dozens at any given point. In terms of a television adaptation, Lost might be the best example to follow. The Lost castaways numbered at around 50 in the early seasons of the show, but less than half of those were anything more than background characters. Walking Dead the series doesn't necessarily need to include every character from the comic, but there are some who are definite inclusions.

First and foremost is the Grimes family. Rick Grimes is a police officer who wakes up in a hospital, a la 28 Days Later, to find the world overrun by zombies. Rick's quest to find his family is the core conflict of the early issues. Once he is reunited with them, Rick assumes a leadership position among his fellow survivors. Rick often struggles with his own self-doubts and his desire to save everyone he can. If Walking Dead has a main character, it is Rick. Fittingly, Rick has been one of the first characters to be cast for the show. <a href=>AMC recently announced that Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually) will star in the series.

His wife Lori, meanwhile, struggles to keep the family together while harboring the secret truth that she slept with Rick's partner, Shane, while Rick was injured. Though Rick and Lori are a loving couple, their relationship is fraught with hardship. Even more important is Rick's son, Carl. Carl is a young boy whose gradual loss of innocence is perhaps the great tragedy of Walking Dead. It could even be argued that he, not Rick, is the most vital character in the story. Regardless, the Grimes family should remain at the forefront of the story.

Naturally, Shane should also factor into the show, at least in its first season. Shane serves as the first real example that fellow survivors can often be as dangerous as the zombies themselves. Though it happened in the first major story arc, Shane's death remains one of the most powerful scenes of the series. Shane happens to be the other character besides Rick to be cast in the show so far. He'll be played by Jon Bernthal (The Pacific).

Also important is Hershel Greene and his family. Their farm serves as one of the early sources of refuge for the survivors. The Greene farm should therefore be a centerpiece of the show for a time. Hershel's daughter Maggie is an important inclusion, as is her romance with Glenn, the pizza delivery boy-turned reconnaissance man.

Following Shane's death, two men in particular serve as necessary foils to Rick. The first is Tyreese, a loving family man with a dwindling family left to protect. The other is Abraham, a slightly more sinister figure who obsesses with herding the survivors to Washington D.C. And supposed safety.

The mysterious Michonne can serve as the one real action heroine of the show. This warrior woman is skilled with a katana and is often a central figure when the action heats up around the survivors. Michonne also factors into many of the comic's more disturbing and memorable scenes.

Finally, we'd like to see Morgan and Duane Jones appear at some point. This father/son duo aided Rick in the very first issue of the series, and were not seen again for several years. However, they do serve a vital role later on in the story. Seeding their eventual role early on in the show would be a nice treat for faithful Walking Dead viewers.